Tag Archives: System Services

When it comes to electronic devices, especially mobile phones, the big big buzz word these day is privacy. Makes sense, it’s a big deal. Almost as important as privacy is how you mange your privacy settings. Personalizing settings to fit your lifestyle and needs can be cumbersome and consuming. If users are confused or overwhelmed they are much less likely to reap the benefits of being able to keep their information safe and private. When privacy is sacrificed at the hands of convenience bad things can happen to good people.

One of the more configureable settings on your iPad that can impact your privacy is Location Services. Location based services are a hot topic because they can be very helpful in predicting our needs and preparing us for upcoming events. However they can also become intrusive if given too much access–it just depends on what your expectations are and how informed you are from the beginning. To make it easier, let’s walk through his to configure Location Services your iPad.

Privacy is quite the buzz word these days. Â We all want it, but do we really know what to do to keep our personal information safe from prying eyes? Â It’s our responsibility to manage our own information. Â We cannot rely on corporate America to do it for us. Â If you’re receiving services that allegedly protect your personal information, you must ask yourself what the tradeoff is. Â Nothing is free. Â Our information is extremely valuable to companies and aids them in providing additional services that equate to dollars. Â If we truly want privacy, how do we achieve that on our iPhones?

In addition toÂ actively controlling the information we share on our electronic devices, it is important to consider the manufacturer directly responsible for designing and maintaining the operating system. Â What’s their track record with regard to customer privacy, and how do they manage your information? Â Do they keep it completely anonymous, or are they actively and openly farming information indiscriminately? Â For their part, Apple has made this processÂ easier for us by adjusting many of the iPhone’sÂ default settings to safer modes out of the box. Â With safeguardsÂ like this in place we are forced to acknowledge, and give permission to apps the first time they require information from us that isÂ considered private.

One of the most important things we can do to keep us safer in this day and age is to actively take a responsible role in controlling the information we share on our electronic devices. Apple has made this somewhat easier for us by adjusting many of the iPad’s default settings to safer modes out of the box. Safeguards like this force us to have to give permission to apps the first time they require information that would generally be considered private.

The category at the top of the list when it comes to privacy is the often debated, Location Services. This is because apps that are compatible with Location Services can potentially gather and use your information as data points indicating your location. One way this information can be translated is via local Wi-Fi networks, when activated on your iPad. However the data collected by Apple is completely anonymous and does not identify you or your location in a way that personally identifies you. Furthermore, you will always be able to tell when an app is currently using your location because there will be an icon of an arrow next to it in the Location Services portion of the Settings App.